CMS pulls plug on transparency deadline

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid announced Thursday that drugmakers won't have to begin collecting doctor-manufacturer payments until January 2013. Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, companies were supposed to start tracking payments back in January.

CMS said on its blog that it's pushing back the deadline “in order to provide time for organizations to prepare for data submission and to sufficiently address the important input we received during the rulemaking process.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is not pleased.

“It's important that CMS get this right in every way, including the usefulness and accuracy of the information. Given all of the extra time, CMS will have no further excuses for not accomplishing these goals,” the Iowa Republican said in a joint statement with Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI).